STATE OF THE MEDIA IN ZAMBIA STATE OF THE MEDIA IN ZAMBIA body the reporters were driving in the constituency as they covered yesterday’s by election. The attackers also stole a camera recorder and money. The paper further reported that: Sunday Mail Chief Reporter Jack Zimba was hacked with a machete on the leg and beaten up. He was treated for his injuries at The University Teaching Hospitals. One of the attackers struck the windscreen twice, targeting to hit Jack, who was on the driver’s seat. He was later on pulled out of the vehicle and repeatedly punched before one struck him with a machete on the left leg. Senior Reporter Steven Mvula was equally dragged from the vehicle and beaten up. In response to the attacks on journalists, various stakeholders including the Republican President condemned the act of violence against journalists. For example, on 31st July 2019, The Daily Mail Newspaper carried a headline “Lungu directs Police to cage scribes’ attacker criminals posing as cadres” The paper reported that: President Edgar Lungu has condemned the attack on two Zambia Daily Mail Reporters in Katuba during a by – election. The President has directed Police to immediately bring culprits to book. Chief Reporters Jack Zimba and Senior Reporter Steven Mvula were brutally attacked by a gang in full view of senior police officers. The attackers, who emerged from Savannah Lodge where the Patriotic Front had set up a camp on Great North Road, beat up and hacked Zimba with a machete and smashed all the windows of a Nissan Hard body. The attackers further stole a camera, recorder and some money. In a statement issued by Isaac Chipambe, the special assistant for Press and Public Relations, the President said criminals masquerading as cadres had no place in today’s democratic Zambia. A review of the 1st and 2nd quarter reports of 2019 shows an increasing trend of harassment and attacks on journalists. Various stakeholders have denounced the acts of violence against journalists. On 2nd August, 2019 The Daily Mail Newspaper carried a story attributed to the Free Press Initiative that denounced the acts of violence against journalists. 22